Please select your home edition
Edition
Cyclops Marine 2023 November - LEADERBOARD

The oldest video footage of Cowes Week

by Magnus Smith 4 Aug 2024 12:00 BST
The Isle of Wight © OS

Cowes Week 2024 has just concluded. But how has it changed since the early years? England has certainly changed, and so have the yachts. Let's look back at the 1920s to 70s at the oldest video footage we can find in the archive.

The main problem we are going to face is the obsession British Pathé had with filming royalty visiting Cowes. Whilst the earliest newsreels have been preserved, and that is wonderful, there is often not the focus on racing which we might like! Be prepared to see the King and Queen embarking motorboats and waving, or Prince Phillip in his Dragon and Flying Fifteen, if you go hunting for more early Cowes action on YouTube.

In this article we have tried to present only the top ten of the 38 videos we have on Cowes Week prior to the year 1990.

We skip 1920 and 1920s to go straight to Cowes Week 1921 which features J class, gaffers, dinghies and 6 Metres. It's not speedy but is worth watching.

We skip 1922, 1923, 1920s, 1926, 1929, 1930, 1931 and 1932/1932.

Cowes Week 1935 is worth showing as the commentary identifies boats and people by name.

We skip 1935 and look at Cowes Week 1936 where J class yacht 'Endeavour II' has a mishap: to break one mast is an accident, but two...?

We skip 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1947, 1949 and 1951.

Cowes Week 1952 is almost all about "the duke" but it gives enough general Cowes flavour to be worth a watch. It's amusing that a royal competitor wins ten shillings!

We skip 1952/1952 and 1953, 1956, to see Cowes Week 1957 with our current King as a young boy, out racing. The footage is worth watching for larger fleets and shore shots too.

Cowes Week 1960 has 12m, Dragon, Redwing, XOD, Flying Fifteen and Redwing - supposedly there were nearly 400 yachts competing. (There is the inevitable royal bit too.)

We skip 1960 and the first from 1961 to see Cowes Week 1961 which has footage on board 12 Metre 'Sceptre', plus lots of shore footage and people.

We skip 1962/1962 because Cowes Week 1963 is better.

We skip 1964/1964, 1965 (and another from 1965 and more 1965 ), 1960s and one from 1967. Much better is this other Cowes Week 1967 with its focus on youth, and great footage of XOD class (still one of the largest classes at Cowes).

There is some good on-board footage in Cowes Week 1968.

Finally we skip 1971 and 1979 and end our top ten here.

What of the rest?

Do you know the location of any 1980s Cowes Week videos that are worth a watch? We would love to share these with other sailors. You can submit video links to us for immediate review.

Keep watching with:

Related Articles

(More than) A Day at the Races
The UK is the place to be right now if you're a sailor The UK is the place to be right now if you're a sailor, and I don't think I've ever known a time when so many great events are happening concurrently. Posted on 22 Jul
Were the Roos Robbed in Portsmouth?
We discuss the Race 6 Penalty with SailGP's Chief Umpire Craig Mitchell The high speed, short course action of SailGP is thrilling to watch, but inevitably causes tight situations and means the Umpires have to react quickly to decide who is right and who is wrong. Posted on 22 Jul
SailGP comes to Portsmouth!
We speak to the sailors ahead of the weekend The Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix | Portsmouth takes place this weekend, with the 12 teams competing in F50 catamarans close to the waterfront, where a massive grandstand has been built for the spectators. Posted on 18 Jul
Double Double
And the rest of the line is not toil and trouble, but quadruple, then another double… On the eve of the 100th Fastnet that has attracted some 464 entries, I heard of one entry in this record fleet that seemed so very apt. Not only because it includes the Commodore of the RORC, but because it combines two Brits and two Aussies. Posted on 13 Jul
Jazz Turner Video Interview
How she Faced Everything And Rose during Project FEAR I travelled to Brighton Marina to catch up with Jazz, talking about her own sailing, the challenges she faced during the circumnavigation, how the money raised will be used, and a glimpse of her future projects! Posted on 10 Jul
Understanding sMRT Alert with Jack Sharland
Man Overboard Devices have come a long way in the last few years Man Overboard Devices have come a long way in the last few years with more features packed into smaller devices, but with all these features it can sometimes be difficult to understand what they all do. Posted on 9 Jul
The Ocean Race Europe Video Preview
We speak to Phil Lawrence, Peter Rusch & Pip Hare to find out more The Ocean Race Europe will take place between 10 August & 21 September, following a debut event in the summer of 2021. The racing is in IMOCA yachts, the same as the Vendée Globe, but this time with 4 crew and an OBR who will document the action on board. Posted on 8 Jul
Foiling Frenzy at Fraglia Vela Malcesine
The Moth Worlds at Lake Garda are something else! The Moth Worlds at Lake Garda are something else! Regardless of where sailors are in their careers, or the reputation they have, everyone wants to be there and have a tilt at the title. Posted on 7 Jul
The oldest video footage of Moth sailing
A look back into our video archive, to when the name of this class first settled down We delve into our video archive to find the oldest possible videos that show Moth racing. Are these International Moths, British Moths... or was the name still Olive, Inverloch 11ft, National Moth or Brent One-Design?! Posted on 6 Jul
The power of tech
What is the cost of safety? How do you measure it? More importantly, how do you appreciate it? What is the cost of safety? How do you measure it? More importantly, how do you appreciate it? Posted on 2 Jul